Restoring Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast New England SNEP - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Restoring Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast New England

SNEP Watershed Grants Program

Today’s Session

• Margherita Pryor, US

EP A

• Tom Ardito, RAE
• Heidi Travers, RI Dept. of Environmental Management
• Ed Tanner, Town of Bristol, RI
• Andrew S

ilvia, City of Pawtucket, RI

• Kate McPherson, S

ave The Bay

• April Wobst, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
• Erin Perry Cape Cod Commission
• Caitlin Alcott, Inter-Fluve
• Discussion

S

• utheast New England Program (S

NEP)

Margherita Pryor, US EP A

S

• utheast New England Program (S

NEP)

Margherita Pryor, US EP A

What is SNEP?

A regional scale collaboration to reconnect the coastal watersheds and communities of southeast New England through innovation, ecosystem approaches to restoration, and a

focus on social, economic, and environmental solutions to bring us from …….

To this This By doing this

S

• utheast New England Program (S

NEP)

What does SNEP do?

Empowers collective action to improve water quality, restore habitat, and sustain ecosystem services and functions

Foster collaboration among regional partners across southeast New

England’s coastal watersheds to

protect and restore water quality, ecological health and diverse habitats by sharing knowledge and resources, promoting innovative approaches, and leveraging economic and environmental investments to meet the needs of current and future generations.

S

• utheast New England Program (S

NEP)

Margherita Pryor, US EP A WHERE is SNEP?

S

• utheast New England Program (S

NEP)

Goal 1: Watershed Resilience Goal 2: Sustainable Communities Goal 3: Assess, Track & Communicate Goal 4: Innovative Solutions Goal 5: Leverage Existing Efforts

Project Distribution by Program Goal

Achievements:

• $22 million in funding since 2014
• S

trong diverse stakeholder collaboration Regional funding opportunities

• Partnership with Restore America’s Estuaries

Challenges:

• Lack of formal program authorization

Continuing program and funding uncertainty

• Communicating Results
• Alignment of diverse stakeholder priorities

S NEP Watershed Grants

Tom Ardito, RAE Concept:

• S

upport Implementation of S NEP Mission & Goals

• Build Local and Regional Capacity to

Restore Coastal Watersheds and Ecosystems

• Foster Effective Partnerships
• S

upport Innovation

S NEP Watershed Grants

Grantmaking Process

• Two-step RFP to broaden participation
• Open to Munis, S

tates, Regional Commissions, NFPs and Tribes

• Independent, interdisciplinary review committee
• Requests up to $500k
• 2018: Received 60 pre-proposals requesting $20M
• Awarded 14 grants totaling $4.3M
• MA, RI and interstate proj ects
• $2M planned for 2019
• Continuity is key

2018 S NEP Watershed Grants

Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring in Narragansett Bay

Heidi Travers, Angelo Liberti Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management - Office of Water Resources Heather S toffel, University of Rhode Island Partners:

NBFSMN Program Partners Operating Stations in the Network and Providing Data Access: RIDEM‐OWR, URI/GSO, Narragansett Bay Commission, NBNERR, MA DEP, NERACOOS. The NBFSMN is a collaborative effort to continuously monitor physical water quality parameters at 14 stations within Narragansett Bay, primarily from May – October, annually. Purpose and Goals: Upgrade three key stations within the Narragansett Bay Fixed Site Monitoring Network with the latest water quality sensors and provide real-time access to the data. These long- term sentinel stations consist of data back to 2001.

Buoy Design and Methodology

Diagram and sonde photo courtesy of YSI/Xylem Integrated Systems

Methodology: Three seasonal buoys in Upper Narragansett Bay will be equipped with network compatible equipment (YSI Brand). This area is critical for evaluating the recent management decisions to reduced nitrogen loadings to the bay. This project will provide web‐based data delivery, custom data acquisition and data visualization systems using network partnered data portals.

Web-Based Data Delivery ry, , Custom Data Acquisition and Data Visualization Systems using Data Portals

Provide real-time data visualizations with custom graphing and the ability for region wide station comparisons Data portal under development to provide access to Narragansett Bay relevant data. Daily average data from the network. Long-Term data warehouse for all data from NBFSMN. Provide weekly seasonal interpretations of real-time data for public users.

Restoring the Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed

Heidi Travers, RI Dept. of Environmental Management

Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed Restoration

• Bi-state collaboration between CTDEEP and RIDEM
• Proj ect location: Pawcatuck Watershed and Estuary which is

shared by both states

• Goal: Restore water quality in support of healthy aquatic

communities, eel grass and recreational uses

Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed Restoration

Purpose: Develop a new watershed-focused approach to identifying and manage nutrient inputs int o coastal estuaries Tasks

• Enhancement and development of an HS

PF model calibrated for flow, nutrients and sediments

• Collection of water quality data within watershed to support model development

Proj ect Goals

• Develop a technical approach for the study watershed that can be applied to
• ther watersheds and coastal estuaries
• Provide a tool that can be used to develop implement ation strategies
• Collaborate and engage with partners within watershed to support proj ect
• utcomes and future implementation activities

Managing Golf Course Runoff to Restore Bristol Harbor

Edward M. Tanner, Bristol, Rhode Island

Goals

Goals:

• Improve water quality
• f two tributaries that

flow into Narragansett Bay

• Enhance functions of

freshwater wetland habitat

• Increase flood storage

capacity

Background

• 26 acre, 9 hole, municipal golf

course

• Reduced to current size in 1980’s
• Wetlands piped, filled, and

channeled

• Maintained turf to edge of

wetlands.

• Water quality monitoring

downstream in Silver Creek and Bristol Harbor

• Elevated levels of nutrients,

bacteria, low DO

S NEP Grant Proj ect

• Site assessment
• Engineering Design
• Permitting
• Construction
• Monitoring
• Public education and
• utreach

Vision

• Restore functions of wetlands
• Reconnect and “daylight” streams
• Native vegetation and buffers
• Improve habitat and flood storage
• Project Partners
• Town of Bristol (project

administration, oversight and permitting)

• Save the Bay (education and outreach)
• Save Bristol Harbor (monitoring)

“Green & Complete Streets” to Restore

Clean Water and Urban Environments

Andrew S ilvia, City of Pawtucket, RI

WHAT PROBLEMS ARE WE TR YING TO S OL VE?

Economic Headwinds

• Low median household income ($40K±)
• Recent, high-profile business departures

Thoroughly Auto-centric Development and Policies

No paid parking of any kind in the City Little enforcement of parking restrictions Personal vehicle ownership makes transportation #1

household expense for low-income families

Pawtucket has 6.8% of state’s population, but 10.1% of

bicycle-automobile crashes Environmental Hazards

• 70%

± of City land covered by impervious surface, virtually

tied for highest in RI

Hot, unhealthy environment for residents Combined sewer system has capacity issues, frequent

CS Os

• All three City rivers have been assigned TMDLs
• Industrial history & legacy of contamination

ADDITIONAL IMPETUS FOR OUR “GREEN & COMPLETE STREETS” PROJECT

• New commuter rail and bus transit hub (ETA

2021)

• New 160-acre, Transit-Oriented Development

(TOD) District will surround station, designed to:

• Foster high-density, transit-adj acent

development

• Increase mobility via alternate, low/ zero-

carbon transportation modes

• Very high visibility location, ideal for

demonstration proj ect

OUR “GREEN & COMPLETE STREETS” PROJECT

• First “Green & Complete Street” project in

the City

• We will demonstrate:
• How to implement at least four unique

stormwater treatment practices in ROW

• Use of green stormwater infrastructure to

protect bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles

• Use of green stormwater infrastructure to

activate a neighborhood

• Low-cost GS

I performance evaluation through partnership with Nature Conservancy

• S

tormwater Master Plan

• Use GS

I treatment volumes to develop bank of credits to incentivize development

• Maintenance Documentation
• Four new short Y
• uTube videos
• DPW staff will demonstrate how to maintain GS

I

A Comprehensive Plan to Restore Water Quality in Hundred Acre Cove

Kate McPherson, S ave The Bay

The Problem:

• Hundred Acre Cove is an embayment in Narragansett

Bay

• The waters of HAC are impaired by bacteria pollution

and have been permanently closed to shellfishing since the 1990s.

• Towns, State agencies, and Watershed Associations in

RI and MA have tried to pinpoint sources of pollution

• f the Runnins River, with mixed results
• Recreational users of HAC are likely unaware of its

chronic water pollution problems.

The Goal:

Save The Bay and bi-state partners will create a detailed Water Quality Restoration Plan for Hundred Acre Cove that includes:

• A detailed review of existing studies and reports
• Creation of updated GIS and watershed characterization maps
• A geospatial analysis of the project area and existing data
• A review of existing water quality data
• Detailed listing of restoration, adaptation, communication,

policy, and regulatory actions to improve water quality

• Creation of an implementation plan for follow-on actions

Partnerships make outcomes possible!

Municipal commitments:

• S

taff support in team meetings, research support, draft review, and communication with administrations

• Engineering, surveying, and drafting services for plan development

RI DEM commitments:

• Access to known studies, TMDL and S

hellfish Program files, and other relevant data

• Technical expertise determining the need for a more comprehensive

monitoring program, and technical assistance in developing a monitoring plan

• Technical support including review of draft documents and other

deliverables

Narragansett Bay Estuary Program commitments:

• Creation of updated GIS

and watershed characterization maps

• A geospatial analysis of the proj ect area and existing data

Improving Water Quality through S tormwater Management in the Three Bays Watershed

April Wobst, Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Approach

Assessment and Prioritization Design and Permitting Installation

S hort Term Results

• Complete design and permitting

for 8 BMPs

• Install a minimum of 4 BMPs
• Eliminate 70-85%
• f bacteria and

55%

• f nit rogen from runoff at

retrofit sites

• Reduce impervious surface
• Restore salt marsh and coastal

dunes/ beaches

• Remove invasive plants
• Provide improved public access
• Provide education and outreach

to public and stormwater managers

• 50%

reduction in beach and shellfish closures

• Reduction of algal blooms and fish

kills

• Improve habitat for fish, shellfish and

wildlife

• S

upport commercial and recreational uses

• Develop proj ect model that can be

transferred

Long Term Results

Cape Cod Water Quality Monitoring

Regional Collection and Analysis of Data to Inform Local Decision-Making Erin Perry, Cape Cod Commission

Regional Water Quality Monitoring Database

Central location to store data collected by different agencies and

• rganizations

Web-based user interface to make data more accessible

Proj ect Team and Roles

Restoring a Former Cranberry Bog for Water Quality and Fish Habitat

Caitlin Alcott, Inter-Fluve

Photo: Alex Hackman

Garner Bog Farley Bog Impoundment

Thousands of Herring in the Eel River, 2016, for the first time since 1790.

Photo: Alex Hackman

Native vegetation, habitat wood Microtopography Re-meandered channel Dam removed

Eel River, 2005 Tidmarsh Farms, 2016

Photo: Alex Hackman Photo: Alex Hackman Photo: Mass Audubon

Education & research

Discussion

For more information: www.snepgrants.org Thomas Ardito, Director S NEP Watershed Grants tardito@ estuaries.org